I know I haven't been updating my blog, although I had all intentions to get back into regular running routine. Some things happened that prevented me from doing so.
After my flight back to London from NY (6 hour flight) I noticed a pretty severe pain in my right calf. I was puzzled as to the cause, since I haven't run in preceding days. But I figured I must have somehow strained my calf going up or down the stairs or something like this. I went running with it even (see my last recorded run on Jan.6). The pain lasted about 10 days and finally subsided. I was okay for about 2 weeks after that, but then past weekend, I was walking with my daughter, and we had to run a few steps to beat a changing street light while crossing the street. After literally 5 running steps, my heart started pounding like crazy, I couldn't get enough air to breathe and felt a bit light headed. This scared me a lot - it was definitely not normal for me, no matter what shape I was in physcially. I also started feeling some vague chest pain, especially while taking deep breaths. I started thinking, what could it be? First I thought, maybe heart problems. But then I looked it up on WebMd and it mentioned pulmonary embolism. Somehow, immediately, I decided it must be it - I put together recent long flight, pain in the leg and my present symptoms, and I knew I had to go get checked out right away. So I called a taxi and went to the nearest A&E (equivalent of US ER in the hospital). I told them I have chest pain and shortness of breath and was taken to triage immediately. I told the doctor to test me for PE. She was surprised why I am so sure, but after hearing my story, she agreed that it was a sensible conclusion, and did a D-dimer test. The test came back extremely positive for clotting activity. They started me on heparin injections and Warfarin (Coumadin) to prevent further blood clots from forming. I spent 3 days in the hospital while Warfarin was kicking in. The CT scan confirmed multiple PE, i.e. I have a lot of small clots in my lungs, which undoubtedly broke off from the ones in my leg and traveled up.
So that was a pretty unexpected turn of events, but I am sure glad I went to the hospital right away. PE is dangerous and can be fatal instantly if a large clot blocks the artery. Now I have to have blood tests every few days until the Warfarin dosage is stabilized. I feel fine, the chest pain is mostly gone, but I still feel my heart rate going way up, even with regular walking, or when walking up the stairs. I thought that medication will break down the clots I have, but this is not the case. "Thinning" the blood prevents new clots from forming, but it does nothing to break the ones that already exist. In time (few weeks or months), my body will either break them down itself, or it will adjust. Right now, I was told to take it easy next week, because my heart is working extra hard to compensate for lack of oxygen in my blood. It looks like I will need to be on Warfarin for at least 6 months, but I may also need to take it for life, because there is a history of blood clots in my family.
I asked the doctor when I can start running again, and couldn't get a definitive answer. He said it may take up to 6 (!) months. I hope it's not the case, but I don't want to start too soon and cause more damage. I was also told to avoid falling as it may cause extensive bleeding now that my blood is so thin. For the same reason, contact sports and sports like skiing where probablity of falling is relatively high, are not recommended while on Warfarin. Running is not too bad, as I fell only 3 times in 7 years. I will just have to see how I feel, I may have to start with walking, and move to running when I'm ready. The main question is whether my lungs sustained any permanent damage from this. If yes, then my ability to run will be compromised because I won't have full lung capacity. If no, I may be able to recover completely. | 